I'm Perplexed By People

By Don Shetterly

I'm perplexed by people.  So often, I hear people say they "care" or they "love" or they are "concerned" about you or someone else.  It all sounds heartfelt.  It feels like you could take those statements to the bank.

However, it doesn't take long before you start to see the cracks in the statements people make. You soon come to realize with much pain that the statements are nothing more than words.  There is no action to back them up.  There is no follow through.  They are just words that give the impression that people mean what they say.

I don't do this!

Of course, I'm sure most people would claim, I don't do this.  It is other people out there that do such things.  They make it convincible.  You want to believe them, but eventually, you learn that their words mean little.

It hurts when people do this because I try to take people at what they say.  I listen to them, and I try to believe that if they are saying they love me or care about me or are concerned, they mean it.  Yes, I know, it is easy to be fooled.

Meaningless Words

You can't just say these words and follow them up with inaction.  Speaking these phrases holds some responsibility.  Without truly showing that you care or love someone or are concerned, these words are meaningless.  They become weapons of pain inflicted upon others.

There are times that maybe it is best if you say nothing.  If you are not prepared to follow through, then don't throw your words around as if they have little value.  It cheapens you and the pain it inflicts upon others, cheapens them.

Don't be misled by the fact that you think everyone else does this because more than likely, you do not see yourself in a truth-filled way.  Yes, you might convince that you see things correctly, but it would serve humanity's best interest if you got a second opinion.

Let Us Be There For Others

After all, we are humans walking this earth plane together.  If we are truly there for others, it helps all of us.  If we inflict pain or stand opposed, we hurt the totality of humanity.  Let's be for helping others and truly being there for them, not only in our words but in our actions.

Worry More About What You Do!

Worry more about what YOU do to make a
difference in the world than what others do.

So often these days, we spend more time preaching at one another and telling each other what they should do and how they should think.  Far too many times, it appears that we think if we do this, we will get everyone to think like us and the world will be a better place.  Unfortunately, if we took more concern about what we did to make a difference in the world rather than what others do, we would have a much gentler and respectful world.

The world will survive without us telling it what it should do. 

How We Treat One Another

Some days I feel like I'm writing for the heck of it.  It is almost like my words mean nothing and fall on deaf ears.

I see the hatred shared online from people who despise the hatred.  I see people getting angry acting as if I should only post stuff that they like and God forbid we don't see things the same way.

How we treat one another these days is mind boggling.  How we censor others is mind boggling.  How we get up on our pedestals and somehow demand others treat us as if we have all the answers is mind boggling.

We have replaced love with hate.  We have replaced our religious beliefs with intolerance.  We have denigrated those that wish to speak up by making them out to be horrible people we make fun of and call names.

What gives here? 

Where is our humanness?

Where is the love we proclaim we have?

We can't walk down both sides of the fence at one time.  We can't proclaim we love others and we want tolerance if we throw mud at those who disagree with us.

Aren't we better than that?  Don't we realize that the more we do this online that we're just being anything but human?

Seems like I have more rhetorical questions than there are answers.  Maybe the answers are there, but no one wishes to see it or hear it.

Heck, I don't have all the answers either, but I at least try to not make fun of others.  I try to not degrade and mock other people.

Our social media accounts show our true nature I think.  If someone wrote a book about us based upon what we share and like online, I've got a feeling that many people would be doing damage control.

It is sad.  It angers me to see the way we treat each other, especially online.  It angers me to see people talk about love and respect and tolerance, but then they go and do the same thing they despise.

It almost, no it does, remind me of the house I grew up in with the church-going-family who hated everyone that didn't think like them.  Maybe that's why this bothers me so much.  I have already lived this once in my life.

Little did I know, I would have to relive it again.  Where's the spaceship - I want to find a new planet that has tolerance and love, not hatred disguised as love.

May we all try a little harder to share a little less online and love a little more.  That's my hope!

Maybe we could work to be a little bit more conscious and aware.  After all, those things are not evident because of words, but because of the actions we portray.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Are Humans Really That Hateful

I see a meanness online these days and it truly bothers me.  If you think I should not be bothered by it, then this blog post is not for you.  In fact, I just got called out for caring about what gets forced in front of our eyes every day.  You can't avoid it, unless you just don't go online.

I have to wonder though, are humans as hateful as they show online?  Do they really hate others as much as their words and actions show?  Or is there a major disconnect and the what people show online is different than they actually are?

My next question would lead me to authenticity.  If you can't be the same online that you are in person to your friends, coworkers and acquaintances, then which persona should we believe?  Who really are you?

I think this matters greatly because by treating each other with so much hatred while proclaiming we are great individuals, is extremely harmful to the world-at-large.  Words, actions, and thoughts do matter.  A thought born out of love can really help someone's day while thoughts born out of hate can really incite significant pain upon others.

We can't just sit back and hide our heads in the sand, because it truly matters.  How we treat others is propagated on to other people many times over.  It hurts.  It harms.  It keeps people hunkering down in their caves of anxiety and depression.

How we treat others is what helps this world advance or decline!  I'm sorry if that goes against your beliefs and opinions, but you can just take a look at humanity through the ages and see how true this is. 

The world is difficult enough on our good days and if we can't walk hand-in-hand together towards a better outcome, will this world even make it?  If we stand opposed and fight and nitpick and manipulate with our opinions and beliefs, may the world somehow survive because the odds are against it in this scenario.

Yes, it does matter if we truly understand whether humans are really that hateful with one another.  To ignore this, is being part of the problem that self-propagates throughout online social media.  We had better wake up before it is too late.  In this case, there will not be any do overs.

#Hate

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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People Will Know You By What You Say

Those pesky little social media posts.  They are pretty telling about a person.  I'm sure most people would probably cringe at the thought of some of these social media posts and emails being read back in a public spotlight.  Yet, it seems no one stops to think about it at the time they write them.

People will know you by what you say.  They really will.  If you want to get a feel for what someone is like, just take a read down through their social media postings.  It will say plenty.

Imagine if someone that didn't know you was given "opposition research" on you.  All of their social media posts and emails and things they said was printed out in a detailed and fact-oriented paper.  What would it say about you?  How would your words present you to the world?

I think there are many if not most people who would be embarrassed if your minister started quoting you in a church service or maybe in a public school meeting, your words were read out loud.  Maybe, for the guy or girl you were trying to get a date with, someone popped up and shared everything you wrote.

Would your words be helpful?

How about if what you had posted was given to your small child at birth as an instruction manual on how they should treat others.  Would it be helpful to them or if they started imitating your words among other children, how would it look?

I'm not saying you can't be real, but what I am saying is that we often try to make others believe one thing about us, while saying just the opposite in our words.  We hold ourselves up as the voice for all to follow, yet we forget about following our own advice.

People will know you by what you say...

People will know you by what you say, whether it is good or bad.  They will see the real you come out, even if it is a numbed and disconnected display.

To go out and hold yourself up so high and then be so blind as not seeing how much you tear people apart is just not human.  Yes, it takes some self control and that is lacking big time in online social media.  Facebook and Twitter and other places thrive on this part of human behavior.  They have built billion dollar businesses exploiting this in people.

The point is, if you're going to say one thing to the world, let your words match it.  Ponder what it is that you say and do because those things show your true colors and intent.  It doesn't matter which side of the spectrum you fall on in life, we all do this to some degree.

Let us build and lift one another up so we can all achieve greater heights.  As we do this, we will advance the world in a much better way than anything else that can be done.  It is up to us to know thyself and determine if our words truly match what we think we say.

#TreatOthers

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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How We Treat Other People

When did we get to the point that we became snobs with one another.  You know, the point where we damn everyone else with their point of view and push our view only.  You know, the point where if you don't believe the way we do, then you are wrong?

Exactly how does that make us human?  How does that promote a higher level of consciousness if we're against everyone and everything they believe.  It's really sad in many ways for our society to practice this with gusto.

I grew up in a home and a church where you believed everything and anything that was told to you regardless if it was right or wrong or it fit or it made sense.  It didn't matter what you thought.  The only thing that mattered is what those in authority said was true.

These days we force everyone to follow our political beliefs and our religious beliefs.  If you don't, you are considered to be less than or wrong or some label placed upon you.  It doesn't matter if you are conservative or liberal.  It doesn't matter if you are religious or not.  It doesn't matter if you are of the new age philosophy or not.

Are We Human

The question I wonder about so many in this world is a big one!  Are we human?  I don't mean do we resemble a human being with bones, muscles, brains, feet, hands, and other body parts.  Again I ask, are we human?

I don't mean do we human things or have moments of compassion and greatness.  I mean, are we human in all areas and walks of our life.  Are we human in all aspects and dealings with other people.  Or is it just a temporary thing that we do when the mood strikes us.

Do we really know what it is to be human or are we just playing a game?  Do we really care or focus on being human, or is it something we boast about while going on about our way in life.

Being human isn't something to take lightly.  Its so diluted and watered down these days it seems.  We fail one another in big ways and small ways.  We treat others as if they are property or a source of our greedy income.